Movie Time: Funny Games

When I first saw the trailer for Michael Haneke’s Funny Games with Naomi Watts and Tim Roth I swore that I would never, ever in my life see this film.  It looked too terrible, too gleefully aware of what it was and what it was doing, and so smugly self-satisfied at being a piece of torture porn.  Sometime later last year I ended up reading Dana Stevens’ review over at Slate and in spite of a pretty mixed rating it seemed like the movie was doing some pretty weird stuff that invited a viewing.

Then this Friday I found myself bored and at blockbuster, and… well.

It’s brutal and awful and torturous and vile and deeply upsetting and everything I thought it would be.  I just wasn’t expecting the movie to be so beautifully shot, or so well edited.  It’s amazingly effective and I ended up really liking it in spite of how much it made me suffer. A lot has been made of the movie’s most transgressive acts against the viewer and the format of film as we know it – the breaking of the fourth wall, a rewind sequence that leaves you feeling like you’ve been punched in the gut.  After the first direct address—which is so uncannily upsetting I might have momentarily lost my mind—the trick gets less and less powerful.  As it becomes more and more obvious that the movie is really just a giant “FUCK YOU” to everyone and the culture of violence that we belong to/embrace/perpetuate/reward, the tension diminishes because it’s obvious that Haneke’s not going to change his mind. And the movie stops being fun when you can figure out how it’s going to end.

Anyway, forget all the crap I just wrote. This is definitely a film to watch if you want a challenge.  It is pretty heavy-handed at times, but it’s also beautifully produced and it just works very well as a thriller.  And it also has its more head-scratching moments for reflection later – like a long conversation between the psychotic duo regarding the malleable nature of reality and fiction at the end of the film.

P.S. Funny Games also prominently features a pretty bitching thrash metal song by Naked City throughout.  Which I’ve included here for your aural displeasure. Do whatever the opposite of enjoying is!

Naked City – Bonehead